NASA Sends Alerts When ISS is Overhead

NASA's Spot the Station service will only send out alerts for “good” sighting occasions.

Ever wanted to see the International Space Station from your backyard?

Truth be told, it’s not particularly difficult given that the ISS is the third brightest object in the sky (after the sun and the moon, of course). But to make finding it a bit easier, NASA’s created a service that will send you an email and/or text alert when the ISS is directly above your location.

The service — called Spot the Station — will only send out alerts for “good” sighting occasions, which, according to the website, are sightings that are high enough in the sky (40 degrees or more) and last long enough to give someone “the best view of the orbiting laboratory.”

The space station, which looks like a fast-moving plane in the sky is best viewed on clear nights, according to NASA.